[Seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV among blood donors in Irapuato, Mexico].
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the seroprevalence of viral markers for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses, in blood donors at the General Hospital No. 2 Family Medicine Unit, of the Mexican Social Security Institute in Irapuato, Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study. Data was recorded on blood bank forms, and risk factors and illnesses were studied in the 7,056 blood donors at the General Hospital No. 2 Family Medicine Unit, of the Mexican Social Security Institute in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, over a period of two years (from July 1998 to June 2000). A sample of 4,010 donors was obtained, each of whom underwent serological tests for HBV, HCV and HIV, serotypes 1 and 2, using an enzymatic immunoassay of third generation in serum or human plasma; seroprevalence rate of seropositive donors was calculated and stratified by age and sex. RESULTS: The combined seroprevalence for HBV, HCV and HIV was 2.5% (101); HCV was 1.14% (46), HBV, 1.12% (45), and HIV, 0.24% (10). In males, HBV was 1.04% (33), HCV 1.07% (34), and HIV, 0.28% (9). In females, HBV was 1.42% (12), HCV was 1.42% (12), and HIV was 0.11% (1). Seropositive males had a 2.4 higher rate as compared to females. CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of viral markers was greater than that reported in previous studies carried out in Mexico, which suggests that sexual transmission was the principal mechanism of infection; this reflects poor health education and the need to carefully select potential donors. The English version of this paper is available at:http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.